


Thunderstorm

by Pins_and_Patches



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Accidental Self Harm, Angst, Eye Trauma, Flashbacks, I'm projecting onto sky a bit maybe, IT'S LATER ON DON'T WORRY, Link (Legend of Zelda) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Scars, Sky Has PTSD, Sky Snaps, Sky does not canonically have scars but he also doesn't canonically NOT have scars so fuck you, and also not graphically described, eventual hurt/comfort, some talk of gore, when will i stop writing traumatized characters? when i stop having trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:48:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24891070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pins_and_Patches/pseuds/Pins_and_Patches
Summary: Thunderstorms are what happen when the sky is angry and can't hold back the feelings anymore.If the sky has powered through so much pain, kept its clouds parted for the sun, and stored as much anger and sadness and fear as it possibly can, a thunderstorm is bound to hit someday.And it's been building up in Sky for a long time.
Comments: 25
Kudos: 115





	1. Nightmare

The ground shook below him. Thunder growled above him. Sky stumbled, struggling to stay up.

Black. He was surrounded by black smoke. He choked and coughed, struggling for air.

Feeling like he was suffocating.

Was that the roar of The Imprisoned in the distance or just the thunder?

Something grabbed his shoulders. Held him tightly. _Ghirahim_. He struggled to fight back, finally yanking himself away. He slashed his sword at whatever had grabbed him, expecting to see the Demon Lord through the now-clearing smoke.

 _Hyrule_.

His eyes wide, stepping away from Sky in fear.

A tear through his green tunic.

Terrified the sword was supposed to cut through his skin.

Sky gasped.

_“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I-”_

Sky’s mouth moved urgently but no noise came out.

Doing the only thing he knew he could, he dropped the sword, turned away and ran, paying no attention to the returning- and thickening- black smoke or how much the ground was shaking until he was blinded and nearly suffocated by the dark fog and deafened by the low rumbling as he struggled to stand.

And then it happened. With a massive crack that threw Sky off his feet, Demise appeared from the earth.

Sky was unarmed, alone and petrified by fear. He tried to crawl back, but he could barely move because of the black smoke he was now coughing up. Choking, gasping for air, the coppery taste of blood on his lips.

Demise lifted his massive sword- _Ghirahim’s_ sword.

Sky tried desperately in one last attempt to shield himself as the sword came down over his shaking body-

He shot up, covering his mouth just in time to stifle a scream.

 _Nightmare_.

A nightmare of what?

The past or the future?

Just a bad dream…

Or a premonition?

 _No,_ He reminded himself. _Demise is gone. Ghirahim is gone. It was nothing more than a bad dream._

But hadn’t that been what he’d thought of the dream he’d had the night before the Wing Ceremony? Just a strange nightmare?

What if this was more?

As he struggled to reason with himself, Twilight approached him from his place in front of the dying campfire.

Sky let out a shaky breath. “Hey, Twi,” He said softly, giving him the best smile he could.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked.

Sky nodded weakly. “Just a nightmare."

"Are you sure?" Twilight pushed.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm fine."

“...You screamed when you woke up.”

“I’m okay, Twilight, I swear. It just... scared me.”

Twilight gave Sky a look, but opted not to press it any further.

“Well, if you need anything, let me know… even if it’s just a hug or something.”

Sky nodded.

Trying to clear his mind of the images of his nightmare, he ran his fingers through his hair, gripping parts in his fists and pulling at them.

_Deep breaths._

He wanted to come to Twilight, who had returned to his spot, and just… hold onto him. He felt so empty. He wanted to touch or hold someone. He removed his hands from his now-messy hair and flexed them a few times.

“Hey, Twi?” He said without thinking.

“Yeah?”

Sky struggled for words, the clenching and unclenching of his hands turning to anxiously flapping them.

But he felt so numb and cold after that nightmare that he wasn’t sure the warmth and safety of someone’s touch- even _Twilight’s-_ could help him.

“No, nevermind.”

Twilight once again gave Sky a look.

“I was going to say something, I think,” Sky said absentmindedly, “but I forgot. It's a bit difficult to remember things without Fi alongside me all the time to tell me whatever I forget.”

He chuckled weakly. Now the sad, numb feeling that had overcome him only felt stronger. He missed having Fi there with him for real. She only felt like a fragment of who she used to be, inside a mere husk that contained her.

Just like Sky.

He wished he’d just left it at his first statement. Twilight may have been suspicious, but this wasn’t one of the few times he would press an issue. _Why did he keep talking?_

Twilight chuckled. “Well, maybe a bit more sleep will help with your memory problem. Just let me know if you have another nightmare, ‘kay?”

_"Just go back to sleep. I’m done worrying about you."_

“Maybe so,” Sky said, mustering another smile despite how, even when he’d said it kindly, Twilight’s words hurt him.

“G’night, Sky.”

Twilight turned away, not giving their conversation- or Sky- a second thought.

Sky hesitated for a second, wondering if it would make any difference whether or not he responded.

“...Night.”


	2. Soaked Crimson With Blood

When he woke up for the day, Sky couldn’t get his nightmare out of his head. What if it was a premonition? What could it mean? Was Demise going to come back?

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to grapple with what he’d seen, but he quickly found it to be a mistake as now all he could see was…

The nightmare.

Hyrule, terrified, pulling away in defense.

Sky turning and running, hoping not to see the pain in his brother’s eyes.

Demise. Ghirahim. Burning orange and seething black and blood red.

_ Soaked crimson with your blood. _

Ripping at his skin. Fangs upon fangs upon fangs. Tearing flesh to shreds in seconds. Burning pain. Brown hair and green tunic and white sailcloth soaked crimson with his blood.

_ Soaked crimson with your blood. Soaked crimson with your blood. Soaked crimson with your blood. _

Trapped screams. Silent cries.  _ Stay strong, stay strong. _

Alone and scared and empty. Screaming for help. Drowning in his blood. Blood pouring rapidly from…

From…

“Sky!"

Sky gasped, glad that the scream lodged in his throat hadn’t come free.

“Are you okay?” Legend asked. “For Din’s sake, we’ve been trying to get your attention for a full minute.”

Sky was torn between the clear concern in Legend’s voice and the harshness of his words. Either way it meant Legend was upset, he’d upset Legend, he’d messed up, he was always messing up…

“Sky, come on, can you try and stay with us here?” Legend asked again.

“Y- yeah. Sorry. I just…”

“Still a bit shaken up?” Twilight suggested.

Sky took a breath.

His chest felt heavy.

He nodded.

His head felt heavy.

Despite the pain in the back of his neck and the images that resided in his mind, he forced a smile and said, “Yeah, that’s it. I’ll be just fine, though, don’t bother worrying too much about me.”

As they started on their path again, Sky readjusted his sailcloth, the only thing keeping the others from seeing his scar from…

_ Crimson stain soaked red torn skin ruthless fangs pouring blood silent screams ripped off searing pain- _

...From something still too painful to think about.

Well, all of it was. But out of everything, it had to be that one event that was the worst, that one battle, that one attack, that  _ one _ time he’d gotten unlucky…

“...How much damage  _ did _ it do?” Hyrule asked.

“Well,” Wild started, lifting up the hair on his scarred side of his face, “Judging by the scars alone, my ear must’ve been blown off or at least just hanging there.”

Sky covered his ears.  _ Please change the subject please change the subject please change the subject please change the subject… _

Whatever Hyrule said in response was blurred into meaningless static as Sky had to force himself to keep going forward despite how cloudy his head was and that all he could see was… 

Blood. Spilling onto his face, into his mouth, his eyes, making his tears red as they fell uncontrollably. As he choked on the blood in his mouth, coughing and struggling for air.

As the image flashed through his mind of that beast mercilessly ripping away at his…

At his…

At…

It took all of his strength not to scream in pain, strength he hadn’t had back then as he screamed until his throat was too sore to even speak and he was simply reduced to pitiful sobs.

No words had been spoken from Fi. She had simply held her cool, metallic wing against the disgusting wound.

His eyes burned from the blood and the tears. His throat burned from screaming. He had never been in more pain before, and that was what he remembered most.

He'd felt so stupid and childish breaking down over an injury, but he couldn’t help it. Beneath Fi’s touch lay an unbearable wound, a horrible memory and a waterfall of blood which steadily flowed into his mouth, creating a coppery taste and a liquid he choked on as he tried to breathe.

A taste that still lingered in his mouth.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to rid himself of the taste of his own blood. Just like the scar on his neck, it’d be something that always haunted him.

Never free of the memory of his brunette hair, his green tunic, and his precious white sailcloth soaked crimson with his blood.


End file.
